Triathlons

[RayP]

Great stuff Imp, and congrats again!


How many calories did you consume on the bike?

I'm getting really nervous for mine. My training for the most part has all been completed, minus this week. Some great weeks of training, some terrible ones, but over many weeks that's to be expected. My best friends bachelor party is this weekend, and I have to travel for it.... So going to miss some training time because of it, but I'm not missing any of my longer rides as this was a lighter week to begin with anyway.

I know I'm not going to run from start to finish, so I really just need to make sure I take in enough calories and sodium while on the bike. If I do that then I'll have an enjoyable race day. I'd love to be able to run the first half of the run, and that's a goal I kind of have in my mind.... But it's not such a huge goal of mine that I'll be remotely upset if I don't accomplish it. But I'd like to run the first half with nothing other than water breaks, even at an 11 mile pace per.

 

[RayP]

One more question for you, Imp... what was your longest run? I think the longest run I'll do, and on that day the only thing I did was run, will be 15 miles. I was a bit nervous about that at first... but upon further research, it seems quite a few people out there max out around 2 hours running. Now wouldn't surprise me if they're getting more than 15 miles in during that time, and my 15 will take me closer to 2.5 hours, but you get point.

 

[The Imp]

My biking is infinitely stronger than my running .

I got in a few 20k runs, and one 16k at a faster pace. Was not enough. But I had a few talks with a really experienced guy, and he said that you should not go beyond 2 hours when training your run. And remember to do plenty of off-bike runs.

I don't count calories, I count grams of carbs. So, a 750 ml bottle of energy mix, carefully measured out, and an Isogel add up to 80g of carb - so one of each every hour, while on the bike. My weight is 85 kg.

Oh, and I did indeed drop a saltstick with 10k to go on the bike. More as a precaution than anything else, but I think it was a good idea.

 

[RayP]

I have to do a 2h 15m run today, and that will be my last long run, and my 3rd of such. I think on my plan I did one of these every other week, over the course of 6 weeks... if I remember correctly?

Gotcha... I put 50g of carbs into my bottles, which = 200 calories. I usually try and bring some food with me too, and usually bring Lara Bars which are anywhere from 220-300 calories and basically pure sure in the form of dates. Although I'm getting sick of those, so I think I might bring some peanut butter spread on some bread for me next long training day, with a little extra salt sprinkled in. Last couple long days I feel like I've struggled to stay hydrated due to not having enough sodium in my system to hang onto the water when I drank it.

Although it will be a week and a half before I get to try that... but I'm pretty confident that's going to fix the issues I've been having. After my last ride + run last week, my ride went perfectly fine but I couldn't for the life of my stop cramping in that spot when you really feel it under your ribs. Normally I can run through a moderate cramp if I pay a little extra attention to my breathing, but it got so bad I just had to throw the towel in.

And as for transition runs off the bike, I usually do at least one a week, so that's not an issue in my training. I've got that covered in pretty much every combo you can think of.

 

[Havre]

Haha. OK.

I have never done an ironman myself so I wouldn't really know, but cycling at 36kph for 180k alone is quite impressive. Actually very impressive. I know fairly decent cyclists who wouldn't be able to do that - and certainly not after a swim and trying to save some energy for a run after.

I guess it is kind of a good thing though. Easier to improve if you are really good at one thing and poor on another - instead of being "average" on everything.

 

[RayP]

3 weeks from race day. Had a decent ride yesterday, although started way too hard... but did just over 90 miles, at about 18mph (29kph). Faded pretty good towards the end, and still had a transition run afterwards which I was really dreading as I was wrapping up my ride...

However, ended up having a great transition run. I think I took in too much sugar/carbs on the bike. Before the run I chugged probably an entire bottle of water, didn't feel noticeably better but got running anyway. The longer I ran the better I felt, and was also just drinking more plain water while on the run.

That'll be the last long training day to test with nutrition, so not too thrilled that I'm not thinking of scaling back on sugar and carbs while on the back given I won't be able to experiment with it.... So we'll see.

I did bring a peanut butter sandwich, with some salt sprinkled on it, that I ate at the 3 hour mark... which was new for me, and I think that helped. Little GI distress at first, but nothing that had a huge impact on the ride itself. Overall I think it helped, but I probably should have spaced out how much and when I ate it a bit more than I did.

 

[The Imp]

If you can ingest solid foods while under way, that's fine. Just don't over-do it, as your digestive system will likely be unable to process it while underway - that's why we use simple sugars like glucose and fructose.

Having said that, go with small bites, just to keep the energy intake interesting. It might well give a little mental releif.

Best of luck, Ray. Pulling for ya!

 

[RayP]

I'd prefer to just use scoops of CarboPro, but I'll probably bring something solid with me. I'll probably bring something with me just to have, if for peace of mind if nothing else.... Overthinking all this for sure.

Thanks dude... Race day can't come soon enough, even if just so I can stop thinking about this **** for a little but..... until the next one.

I wish I were a little stronger on the bike, but too late for that now.

 

[RayP]

Less than a week from race day..... Nervous, excited, scared, and confident all at the same time.

Had to take the bike for an unexpected tune-up last week after something felt off. Bit closer to the race than I'd prefer, but will give me peace of mind if nothing else. Should get it back tomorrow, and get 2-3 light rides in before race day just to make sure all feels right.

Also ended up renting some ZIPP 404s for the race. Wasn't able to buy that other set in time, and with the spoke still rattling on my current wheels, figured I'd be best off just renting.

Gonna be a warm race day. Currently calling for 90F (32 C). Were calling for a chance of storms a few days ago, but only a 10% now. Honestly wouldn't mind an evening thunderstorm around 5-6pm to cool things down a bit once off the bike. Water temp is pretty warm too, and a wetsuit is 99.99% out of the question. With it being downstream, don't really have an issue with that. Probably will just go bare-chested, to be honest. The time it will take to put my top on when I'm done won't be worth the time savings IMO to then have to start the bike in a soggy shirt.

 

[The Imp]

if it's that warm, a soggy shirt might be a good thing, Ray. Keep that in mind. Carrying a bottle of water on the bike to pour over yourself could be a good idea too. Although, odds are you're more used to the warm weather than I am.

404s a great. They might well brake poorly in the rain though. Worth keeping in mind.

Just keep going Ray. Never, ever stop.

 

[RayP]

That early won't be an issue. Swim starts at 7:30, so should be on the bike by 9, and won't be unbearably hot... not till around 12 ish.

Bike portion should be tolerable enough to where I won't need to carry an extra bottle just for that... with how much cycling I did in even hotter weather.

Rain is no longer a concern, but now it's expected to be even hotter.... and not a cloud in the sky. A local I was talking with also said there won't be a lick of shade pretty much the entire day.

That's more or less the plan. I might go harder on the bike than initially planned knowing that in that heat, there is going to be a lot of walking regardless. The heat on the bike won't phase me, and I'm not anticipating starting the run until around maybe as late as 4. By then the hottest part of the day will have passed, but it will still be very warm. I can use the first hour of the run to run very slowly, and then as the sun starts to go down and it starts to cool off, then pick up the pace as that starts to happen.

Got my rental wheels today.

 

[The Imp]

Very nice

Best of luck to ya. PM me if you have any questions or concerns, and I'll try to give you my $0.02.

 

[RayP]

Only thing I'd be curious to know is how you managed your sodium intake. In terms of method, amounts, and frequency.

 

[RayP]

Temp now expected to be 94 F (34 C).


****kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

 

[The Imp]

Only thing I'd be curious to know is how you managed your sodium intake. In terms of method, amounts, and frequency.

Energy drink, and a prophylactic salt stick halfway through the bike, and then again at the end of the bike.


If you have too much salt, it just washes out no harm no foul, but if you have too little, especially while drinking a lot... ooo baby. With those temps, you HAVE to think about salts with your hydration. Whether it's through electrolyte tabs in your water or salt sticks, you must address it. A triathlete in IronMan Frankfurt died from hyponatremia last year.




Salt sticks: http://saltstick.com/product/saltstick-caps/


Hypomatremia:http://www.220triathlon.com/nutriti...-and-symptoms-of-low-sodium-levels/11105.html

 

[RayP]

Yeah I've got the capsules you put in that exact Salt stick, but I dissolve mine in my water bottles instead of swallowing a pill.

I know it's not as hot by you as it is here, but still surprised you didn't take in more sodium.

But anyways, race day finally tomorrow. Felt bad for a lot of people pumping their tires this afternoon at like 12, to then let their bikes get baked in this ridiculous heat. Gonna have some irritated people tomorrow morning when they get to their bike.

 

[The Imp]

Best of luck, my friend

 

[RayP]

Thanks! Think I have my plan on my head made up. Until I wake up tomorrow and change it all up for the 100th time.

 

[The Imp]

DNF? You ok buddy?

 

[RayP]

I finished, I just lost my tracking chip during the first transition.


However after I got home I had to go to the ICU for seizures, but I should have my updated time in the next day or two.... or how ever long it takes them to piece that together. Didn't get out of the hospital till today.

 

[The Imp]

Dude... heatstroke, or is this something you struggle with regularly?

Anyway - congratulations Ironman!

 

[RayP]

Not something I struggle with regularly, but it was just unfairly hot. The bike portion was just disgusting.

 

[The Imp]

Sounds pretty epic. I look forward to a full race report, if you're willing.

 

[RayP]

Want to say the temp peaked at 97, and I read with 85% humidity. The first loop on the bike was pretty quick, and tolerable, but the second one was just torturous. The wind had started to pick up a bit, too.

I want to say I started the run around 4. When I handed off my bike to a volunteer and went into the changing tent to recover for a minute, everyone looked like they saw a ghost. And just about no one ran out of transition. Well, I did, but it didn't last long haha. I probably ran about 13-15 miles, and then power walked the rest.

Emailed them to update my time so it doesn't show DNF, but it hasn't been updated yet, but they did respond that they will do it. I'm not positive, but I want to say it took me about 14-15 hours to finish. I vaguely remember running down the shoot, but I don't remember hearing them say "RAY POTTS YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!" probably because I looked like a zombie and like I was about to croak, but like I said, I did finish so I got that going for me.

As soon as I finished going down the chute I stumbled to the car, needed my wife and mom to load my bike into the car because I wasn't capable of even taking the front wheel off, and then laid down in the back seat. It was about a 2 hour drive home, and right when we got within about 2 miles of being home, which is also right next to the ER/hospital, was when I had the seizure in the car. They obviously then rushed me to the ER. Apparently they had to hold me down with 5 paramedics to restrain me. Induced me in a coma from Sunday night to Wednesday morning. And yeah, that was that.

My foot is a little banged up, and shoulders a bit sore too. And lots of bruises from me apparently resisting being tied down. But other than all that, I'm ok.

During the race I went through 3 bottles of this mix, which was about 300 calories per bottle. In addition to that I of course took some gels, Gatorade, and water while on the bike. Then on the run I drank some more Gatorade, a little Coke, and some solids like pretzels and some Cliff blocks. I ate quite a few pretzels, and would have thought that alone would have been enough sodium, but apparently not.

The neurologist said to ditch the Carb Pro, while he has no issue with me doing another Ironman, even a full.... he just said he would highly recommend I hire a coach, or meet with some form of a group, to help me with the nutrition side of things.

 

[RayP]

Oh, and turns out I also had some minor bleeding in the front of my brain.